Alternative energetics gain momentum in the world. Research and development of new technologies for recovering and producing new sources of energy is no longer a privilege of chosen ones but become a common necessity.  Recently an international audit company «Deloitte» has published the results of its research that speak for serious changes in energetic landscape. The question of the security of energy supply is more and more often raised by world leaders. Thus, according to the data of the American media outlet «Bloomberg», only in 2015 the amount of investments to clean energetics was bigger than the annual GDP of Ukraine, and comes out at 329 billion dollars. The topic of the development of alternative energetics in Ukraine becomes important and has a bunch of details that are to be elaborated. For example, is it possible to replace oil by solar batteries in Ukraine, and what is the future in the sphere of energetics in not only our country but also in its closest neighbor; and many other things that we heard from the doctor of physico-mathematical sciences and the Electronics and Computer Technic Department Chairman in SSU Anatoly Opanasyuk.

• Anatoly, as you’ve mentioned before at the round table meeting about energetic security challenge, extraction of minerals of the Earth exceeds the natural property for their recovery; and the oil resources will suffice only next 30-40 years, natural gas – 40-45 years, and coal – 70-80 years. But the alternative energetics of Ukraine are being slowly developed so far. Do you think that such a perspective will cause even bigger crisis?

The thing is that in our country crisis can’t be bigger, and Ukrainian crisis is the easy bit comparing to the global one. But I don’t think that everything is too bad. In the Western Ukraine (Ralivka village near Sambor city in the Lviv region) is being built a station of solar energy processing, and during 2016 in Ukraine 34 solar power plants of general capability of 120 MW. Another direction of development of alternative energy sources is wind power. But so far it has some minuses: noisiness, high steel intensity, and wind turbines often kill birds; that’s why now aggregates of new design are being developed for processing of energy this way.

Wind power take the first place in production of alternative energy in the West, and photovoltaic accelerators – the second. Unfortunately, most solar panels installed in the Ukraine made in China, for laboratory work our students also use solar converters on silicon, which were purchased in China. They are cheap and made of polysilicon. Solar converters are beneficial, as they work for about 30 years and virtually are maintenance-free. Only occasionally they need to be cleaned of dust. And the development of solar energy in the world compounds 25% for the year.

• So how do you think the present situation can be displayed on the population of Ukraine?

Unfortunately, the population of Ukraine will decrease. And in fact, it does not depend on the situation on the energy front, It`s just because the world has become single. There are two main problems of Ukrainian demographics - low birth rates and the outflow of young people to the West. And this trend is still unchanged. It is necessary to change the demographic situation by taking reasonable laws. So today there is such a trend - our citizens traveling to the Eastern Europe, their citizens - to Western Europe, and their scientific intelligentsia went to America. So everybody is moving in search of better living and decent remuneration for their work.

• Thus, the situation leaves much to be desired. We are moving to Europe, and in Europe alternative forms of energy are developing. How fast you think Ukraine can make the switch to alternative energy sources? For example, replace oil with solar panels?

Of course, everything depends on us. The truth is that we will have to do it. At the Paris Summit, which was called to reduce CO₂ emissions, certain quotas of emissions of this gas were set. Without such measures humanity simply will not survive, global warming is gaining momentum. Reducing CO₂ affects all countries. If in countries like Ukraine this figure reaches about 5-10% of emissions a year, in the Western countries - 20-30%. For Ukraine it is a little incentive to change, because our industry has fallen down so recently that we have a large margin of safety for the general establishment of alternative energy. It is a matter of time. But Western countries should take urgent measures, because it is a very serious matter. With an increase of atmospheric temperature, significantly increase the number of natural disasters, leading to significant economic losses to overcome their consequences. And these numbers are growing. Humanity disturbed processes in the Earth's atmosphere, which were set thousands of years. So either we limit greenhouse gas emissions, or we will not survive.

• As far as transition to alternative fuels in Ukraine is inevitable and will happen the sooner the better, so how it will affect on the economy and foreign policy of Ukraine?

Most significantly is that in Ukraine do not work economic mechanisms that would make alternative energy profitable. For example, in the USA is a state program, under which free solar converters are assigned to all financially disadvantaged citizens and they will pay not $ 400 a month for electricity, but only 40. But in Western countries there is a so-called "green tariff". What does it mean? There is the cost of electricity produced by conventional means, however, alternative electricity price is much higher. Thus, you could take out a loan from state and install solar converters. Then you can sell expensive alternative energy to the state and cover the cost of your loan by the difference in prices. Approximately after 10-15 years the amount covered completely, and other energy is produced for themselves. It should be noted that Germany was one of the first countries in the world by the number of photovoltaic cells. There they covered mostly everything. Since in Ukraine "the green credit" to put into operation only for private entrepreneurs, so some state departments will not havebenefit from this case. So, not people in Ukraine have to be changed, but economic mechanisms by which these people work. In the West a kind of business culture educates leaders since childhood of people. It teaches that if you can`t do something by yourself, then nobody will "push" you in power, as is the case in our country.

• It is clearly that, because of the condition of Ukrainian economy, the first thing our state has to do to switch to alternative fuels is to find profitable resources. What alternative source of clean energy, in your opinion, is the most feasible for Ukraine?

The processing of biogas is an alternative source widely used in China. The Chinese have built a million biogenerators. In its turn, Ukraine is the country that produces a lot of agricultural products, residues of which rot on the fields! And how much of such biomass is in forests. No one uses it, but around the world it has been put on line processing for many years. For example, Russia is planning to transfer its gas flows from Europe to China and supply 30 billion cubic meters of gas in this country (the pipeline "Power of Siberia"). But the Chinese by building millions of gas generators, satisfied almost all of its gas needs. They develop alternative energy at a swift rate. My research group master photovoltaic energetics - it is the direct conversion of solar energy into electricity. Such devices are simple, very cheap and do not require maintenance. During last two years electricity produced by solar converters in Europe is cheaper than those produced by using conventional combustion of oil and gas. We have special institutions in Ukraine, schools, resources, but unfortunately, there is no economic mechanisms to make it beneficial to use them. And then such solar converters will be in every home.

• You mentioned about the activities of Russia in the energy line, and as you pointed out earlier, the 97% of Russian economy is based on revenues from oil and gas. So what do you think will happen when oil and gas company in this country will produce nothing?

So, if you look at the economic performance of Russia, then you may be speechlessly amazed. However, they hardly produce any high-quality and high-tech products, except, of course, the military once. Mostly they only sell oil and gas but actually these resources there are quite expensive, because today Russia shakes them from Siberia. This requires a energy and costs. And here some interesting processes are observed. For example, America is on the first place in the world by the reserves of shale gas. That the country that has been an importer of oil and gas is transformed into a country that exports them. The first tankers with liquefied gas have already arrived in Europe. And this is very important. As the US economy is in ten times bigger then in Russia, Russia gradually lose European markets. It is important to note that oil and gas have never been a commodity to Russia, but always policy. The price of these resources has always been political. Now nobody in the world does not want to depend on someone and change their policy depending on gas prices. If a player goes out, it replaced with the other. This is how it works on the world market. Now many new technologies for energy production are developing. And if some time ago in some place it was not profitable to produce oil, but now it is the opposite - beneficial, as technologies develop in frantic pace. For example, today in America there are technology of making gasoline from sea water and CO₂, appropriate settings are assigned on military ships, which no longer need to replenish stocks of fuel. So you see what can be done already, only need is energy. So now scientist develop technologies that allow to replace all these processes of extraction of fossil fuels by artificial chemicals and make it from the simplest ingredients - water and CO₂ and any fuel.

The only thing humanity needs is the energy. Nowadays also people develop technologies that will help to use not only solar power, but also thermonuclear. It is also clean energy. I think that in 5-6 years these technologies will be on the market. Reducing the price of traditional fuel resources caused because of the energy revolution is in the world and that Russia, as usual, overslept it. This is due to the fact that its economy is generally held by oil and gas exports to Europe, but in the next 5-6 years they will lose this market.

• Yes, the world is moving forward and we have to go twice as fast to keep up with him, as the English writer Lewis Carroll has said. And finally, please tell me has our world prospects for the future?

I hope that humanity really wants to solve the crisis which it has. And I think that it is able to do it. Since it has no other choice. As if civilization does nothing, it just dies out. And since every civilization has its lifetime, it also has a decline. The world is moving forward, and Ukraine, unfortunately, linger in one place. A new stage of human development, associated with the third and fourth technological revolution, has begun and the first problem we have to solve in our country is the energy problem. And then we do everything else. We will synthesize fuel and everything else. The only thing we need is energy; all the necessary technologies we already have or it is about to occur. With graduate and students we study thin-film solar converters that have record parameters and belong to the third generation of solar cells. Today there are flexible solar converters, which are produced, for example, from organics. Incidentally, one of the world's first plant for the production of organic solar converters is built in Ukraine. I would like to add that the whole West is, so to speak, obsessed on environment, and will not solve the problem without solar energy. The world is finally thinking about the future, and therefore everything will be fine.

 

 

Tetyana Ivanutska,

journalist of the Center